AFL umpires to visit Coast

By
BRAD COLE

THE AFL umpires roadshow will be arriving on the North-West Coast on Monday, with one of its highest profile members spreading the word to help boost flagging numbers.

THE AFL umpires roadshow will be arriving on the North-West Coast on Monday, with one of its highest profile members spreading the word to help boost flagging numbers.

Queensland goal umpire Chelsea Roffey will join Victorian field umpire Chris Kamolins at the Ulverstone Football Ground, where they will assist in a training session, before conducting a presentation.

Roffey became the first female to officiate in an AFL grand final when she waved the flags in the 2012 decider between Sydney and Hawthorn, while Kamolins has presided over 132 games in a nine-year career.

Association president, Nathaniel West, said the roadshow is a similar concept to what the AFL clubs do with their community camps, with umpires dispatched to various regions around Australia.

"It's a way of promoting umpiring in the regions and giving the regions an insight into what it takes to officiate at the highest level and the background on how the umpires have got there,'' he said.

"Hopefully by getting Chelsea down we can promote more females in umpiring.''

Many community leagues around Australia have experienced tough times when it come to the recruitment of new umpires, and West said his association was no different with the NTFL and TSL seasons only weeks away.

"We're battling at the moment, but the more people we can get the message out to the better off we will be,'' he said.

"Without the umpires there is no game and we're exactly the same as a football club where we have our members and social functions, but it's getting the message out that we are there and we need new people to join us.''

The umpires information session will be held from 5.45pm-7pm at the Ulverstone Football Ground, followed by the season launch for the NWUA.

If you are interested in becoming an umpire for the coming season, phone director of coaching Martin Gaffney on 0497 686 814 or visit www.nwua.com.au.